Al's Music Video & Games

Fantastic experience: ordered a cd online from discogs! good pricing and super upfront about some wrinkling on the cover. in great condition and shipped quick, also love the stickers ^_^ awesome store!

Fantastic experience: I’m always pleasantly surprised every time I step into Al’s Music Video & Games. There are constantly rare games and hidden gems waiting to be discovered. Their collection is fantastic everything from Neo Geo to TurboGrafx-16, and it feels like a treasure hunt every visit. It’s such a sweet feeling walking out with something special each time. If you’re into retro gaming, this place is a must-visit.

Fantastic experience: A good business to support. Got a record I've been looking for a long time and was in great condition. Happy with my purchase. 5 stars!

Fantastic experience: I recently ordered a used vinyl LP, and it was delivered quickly and hassle-free. All communications were quick and all my questions were answered. I would not hesitate to shop there again!

Positive experience: Came here for the games and they have a good selection, and along with music cds and vinyls.

Fantastic experience: Originally posted around August 2024: Game store is quite nice, and I also met a worker named Quinn a while back. He recognized my voice from the phone call when I mentioned about buying both Hyperdimension Neptunia games on the PS Vita what a coincidence lol. Even though I wasn’t able to pick up those games on that specific day, I asked them if they can transfer it, and luckily they got them transferred to Federal Away which it’s close by to me and not that far from where I’m at. Quinn is a great guy and other workers too that I have met a while back. I just forgot to add the review a while back, but here I am and I added the review of my experience. Edit on 1/6/2026: I decided on visiting again on December 2025, and I just found out that Quinn no longer works at Al’s Music & Games at Seattle anymore. Big thanks to my man Kyleree for letting me know about Quinn’s absence, my apologies if I mispronounced Kyleree’s name wrong. Still a great place to visit whenever I stop by at Seattle University District. I’ll rather take Al’s Music & Games Seattle than the one at Federal Away.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic shop. Staff were very helpful and helped me find exactly what I needed.

Fantastic experience: Ordered through Discogs and had a great experience! CDs came just as listed and shipping was fast.

Fantastic experience: Have only purchased on-line through Discogs, but prices and selection are great. They had a hard to find import that I had been looking for, and had it listed for a great price. Quick turnaround on my order as well. I will shop with them again, and if I am ever in Seattle I will make sure to stop in!!! Thank you!!

Fantastic experience: I found Al's through discogs and it was a pleasant experience! Easy to do business with! Great packaging! Thank you for keeping a clear and open channel. It's amazing how the basics are lost by some people / businesses! -Stevo4756

Fantastic experience: Got an amazing deal at Al's booth at PRGE 2025 on one of my personal grails, the Onimusha 3 ps2 controller, absolutely couldn't be happier.

Fantastic experience: Ordered something from them through Discogs. Arrived quickly and in good shape. Wouldn’t hesitate to purchase again.

Fantastic experience: These fine people attended Portland Retro Gaming Expo this past weekend. Out of the 300 plus vendors that attended the expo Al's Music Video and Games were the best in prices, selection and service. I was able to find Castlevania Rondo of Blood and Lords of Thunder PC Engine for very good prices. When im in Seattle I will definitely stop by the store front.

Fantastic experience: Huge selection of collectors items and old memorabilia with fair pricing. Couldn’t help but buy like 10 games. Cool environment and even cooler staff. Definitely will return.

Fantastic experience: Found a vinyl that I have been searching several years for there. Ordered online and arrived safe and sound and fast too! Next time I’m in Seattle I’ll have to drop by the physical location and check it out. Might even shake a hand or two.

Fantastic experience: Ordered a CD and it arrived fast and as described. They even sent a couple stickers in package too! Definitely stopping in if I’m ever in Seattle. Buy with confidence, much thanks!

Negative experience: Very Unprofessional and rude management.

Fantastic experience: Such an awesome place. The history, the nostalgia, everything about it is so fun.

Negative experience: Extremely rude unless you're apart of the scene. Don't ask questions unless you want a disrespectful and humiliating response. Don't waste your time or money! The worst customer service I've ever experienced without setting foot in the store.

Positive experience: I thought there was an amazing selection of stuff here, but pick a theme. When I’m looking for music I don’t want to see video games and vice versa. I think it’s a good shop, I just didn’t vibe with it personally.

Positive experience: Prices on used vinyl was good, games not as much. Super impressive selection and lots to look through

Fantastic experience: This place is so sick! Huge selection of video games, vinyl, movies, and anything a nerd can ask for.

Fantastic experience: Super cool spot- everyone is super helpful, their selection is great, and they even fixed up my Gameboy color! It had video issues and they fixed it right up in a few minutes. Highly recommend stopping in here!

Fantastic experience: I am a collector of DVDs, videogames, and CDs. I am shocked that I've never been to Al's before now. They have a wide selection of physical media. I can't imagine anyone walking in and not buying at least something. Not only did I find items below market value that I wanted, but they provided some empty cases for free when I asked. The employees and owner are very nice and knowledgeable. I felt as though this entire store was crafted with my interests in mind. If you are a fan of physical media, come here. You won't regret it.

Fantastic experience: AMAZING TIME AS ALWAYS AMAZING STAFF AND A AMAZING SELECTION OF GAMES AND RECORDS !

Negative experience: pretty store with a decent selection but do not expect a quick response over any trade in that you don’t physically have on you. tried to trade in a crt of my own for a crt they had, expressed interest, emailed them about the proposal, went back to the store the next day to remind them about the email, and three days later they finally responded saying they sold it to someone else. heartbroken.

Fantastic experience: Tons of media across multiple platforms(dvd, vhs, cassette, vinyl, CDs, etc), and a large collection old video games and modern rarities.

Fantastic experience: Awesome shop ! , friendly service and awesome products ! Couldn’t ask for more A++

Fantastic experience: Visited on 8/31/2024. They have a great selection of albums, CD's, and movies as well as some interesting collectibles. Prices are pretty reasonable. I always seem to find something there every time I go.

Fantastic experience: We were in Seattle on vacation recently and wanted to find a good used movie store. We happened to stumble upon this hidden gem and wow, what a great shop! We received EXCELLENT service by staff who love what they do. Very cool atmosphere and great selection of music, games and movies too. Everyone needs to check this place out and help support a local business!

Fantastic experience: First time ever stopping by the shop. Had an amazing experience with the people in the shop, everyone was so nice, friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Alex specifically helped me fix my 3ds in less than 15 minutes while also helping other customers. The customer service goes above and beyond. I would recommend to anyone trying to get their old systems fixed or anyone looking for reasonably priced retro wear.

Fantastic experience: Such an awesome store. I always enjoy checking out their retro games and the staff was super helpful and answered all my questions. Thanks Ian and Kyrie! I will definitely be back

Fantastic experience: Sweet spot. Lots of cool games, movies and collectibles. The guy who is always there is super friendly, helpful and patient with me checking stuff out. I’ve purchased quite a few items and they all were in good condition. I swing by every couple of weeks to see what new stuff they have.

Fantastic experience: Amazing selection of all kinds of media, fairly and knowledgeably priced. Staff is happy to talk about any number of subjects and answer any questions. A fun place to spend time, and I always walk away with something cool!

Fantastic experience: We came for video game music and left with video game music! Awesome selection, only complaint is the narrow aisles.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely love this store great for gamers and movies and music lovers

Negative experience: They are running a sales tax scam here. They charge 11.0% tax when Seattle's rate is only 10.25%. Guess they figure nobody will notice. See my receipt for evidence. Go to Pink Gorilla down the street instead.

Negative experience: Do NOT trust these people when it comes to console repair. They tell you they'll be able to take your system in, only for them to take your down payment and hold it for a week before giving it back to you WORSE than how it was before. I had a GameCube with a faulty laser that I wanted to get looked at, these guys took my $25 only for them to throw my GameCube back at me after a week of waiting to hear back, and in WORSE condition! My GameCube doesn't read discs at ALL anymore thanks to these losers! DON'T GO HERE!!!

Negative experience: I brought a PS3 controller in for repair, then I had to leave the country for about 1 month. When I came back Al's said that my controller was not fixable and that they could not find it... I did not get anything returned to me and I'm sure they harvested all the buttons/sticks/shell/ect from it.

Fantastic experience: Went here with my father, who was pleased with the selection of music, and my brother, who was pleased with the games. My dad said when he lived here the store wasn't nearly as good as in his day, so it's neat that they've improved so much

Fantastic experience: 5 stars for the video game repair service. In October I brought my OG Xbox in for repair. My self-executed mod had expired after 7+ years and the machine wasn't booting. The team at Al's took all my nitpicky info down accurately and sent me a copy of my repair form. Alejandro, the technician who did the work for me, was very knowledgable, understood the importance of the device to me, and explained the situation. They provided me a shortcut fix that could get me back up and running, but when I asked about other options they were happy to explain different options. Their good communication and subject mater expertise earned my trust and convinced me to go forward with an improved modification. There was no way in hell that I was going to spend many hours re-ripping all of my collection off original discs so they gave me step-by-step guidance for how to back up my hard disk before I returned the device for the upgrade. When the mod was completed, they again walked me through how to restore all of my backed up content. As a result I had a better modded device and all of my original data intact. They charged a fair amount for the work and research required. Again, I was grateful to Alejandro for their technical and communication skills. Everyone can grow, and I do have some constructive feedback: it would be good if Al's could tell me where in the queue my device was for repairs. I expect this could make some customers nervous. If they could see how many were ahead of them, it could set expectations and soothe them. I like to think I was more patient. I like to think that.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely great this store is the best well rounded for games movies and audio of almost every format! The employees are very nice and the prices are great couldn't be any more happy with them, definitely worth the visit!

Fantastic experience: Great selection and prices! One of my favorite places in the U District.

Fantastic experience: Chill staff and best selection of used Blu-Rays I've seen from a place that doesn't have "video" in their name. Glad I stopped in while visiting from Portland, 3 movies for $11.99 and 2 of them still had a working digital code, rock on.

Fantastic experience: Great vibe, systems are a bit expensive but they had some harder to find stuff.

Negative experience: NEVER SELL OR TRADE HERE, I walked in with a region 1 interstella 5555 DVD, an original 1 in 10,000 FLCL box set (with box of course), and a mission hill box set. This is over $200+ worth of DVDs. I asked about selling or trading, they looked at my stuff and said there was "nothing of value" but I was "free to leave it with them" if I "wanted to" Ah yes, let me give a for profit business over $200+ worth of merchandise for free. I'm assuming they do this regularly to people who do not know the value of the things they are attempting to sell or trade. If you really need to sell or trade Google the prices of everything before going in and be prepared to walk out on a terrible offer.

Fantastic experience: Been coming here regularly for a decade and it's rock solid. Fair prices, friendly staff, great finds. Keep on keeping on, Al's. I'll keep coming back

Fantastic experience: Coll store, and they do really good console repairs.

Positive experience: Al's went from a place I would almost go dry eyed from not blinking just to look at everything. To a place that honestly feels like it's going out of business. Their 2nd location (literally across the street) seems to of cannibalized a large portion of their inventory. There is still lots to look at, but it feels like it's only got worse over time.

Fantastic experience: What a fun little store! I was really surprised at how flush their VGM vinyl selection was - if I wasn't strapped for cash I may have very well bought a few. But instead I opted for some more obscure finds in the jazz section, which turned out to be slam dunks. Always a great feel. They also ran out of their Cherry Blossom Festival promotional items for purchases, but offered to give me a really neat print instead! Super cool of them. :D

Fantastic experience: A varied and eclectic assortment of media, ranging from video game paraphernalia to incredible anime and manga. It can be a little overwhelming to step through the aisles at first, but Alex will help you through every step of the way. It’s a wonderful store brimming with personality, and one that I cannot recommend heartily enough.

Fantastic experience: This place is the real deal and an asset to Seattle. I've been going here for almost 20 years and it always has what I'm looking for. Can't recommend this place highly enough for any used electronics and media.

Fantastic experience: the atmosphere here is astounding, and the selection is something else. I know of no other place in the entire state where they have a constant supply of gen 1 ps3s, as well as choice figurines and an amazing anime selection. the staff are the kindest you'll find and they gave me 70(!) more dollars for my games than pink gorilla, too (no shade). THIS is THE spot in Seattle.

Fantastic experience: awesome shop. Not only was I able to find the super rare system I had been searching for since the mid 90's, I find out it had been completely overhauled and fixed by Al's in house tech so I will have years of play on it! These guys are the real deal....not just in the business to make money, but because it's something they are passionate about too and that passion flows over to their customers. Thanks Al's Music Video & Games! You'll definitely be seeing me again!

Fantastic experience: Al's is a must-stop for our family trips into the U District. The staff is friendly, knowledgeable, and helpful if you are looking for a movie or have a question. Very yes!

Positive experience: Not the cleanest feeling store, also the lighting in there isn't too great either, HOWEVER...they got a great selection of stuff and the people working there are friendly to speak with.

Fantastic experience: My switch joycons had drift and they totally fixed them up for me! also they have super good deals on switch pro controllers, too good to pass up, so I got one. Love this place :)

Fantastic experience: I love this place so much i love you so much you guys are amazing and i love you so much. I love you so much i am in love with you guys i love al’s i will love al’s til the day i die

Fantastic experience: AWESOME environment!! AWESOME employees. They have everything. Check them out. They have allot of NEW RELEASE MOVIES TOO. MAKE SURE TO STOP IN IF YOU HAVEN'T.

Negative experience: Bad experience with staff. Totally belittling and condescending attitude. Sorry if I brought stuff you didn’t think was worthy, I was just trying to resell. Unless you’re a hard-core gamer, don’t come in here.

Fantastic experience: Easily my favorite store for retro games and vinyl. Used to walk by thinking it was a pawn shop or something but stuck my head in a couple months ago and was blown away. Unlike Pink Gorilla down the street these guys buy and sell modded consoles. Prices seem to be pegged against eBay with a discount, so it's not garage sale bargains but it's cheaper and faster than what I could get online without some serious hunting. You've really got to spend some serious time in this store to take in the stuff packed into every square inch from floor to ceiling Not just records and retro games but random controllers, carrying cases, anime merch, collectibles, blurays, receivers, video game magazines, heck even MiniDisc stuff occasionally. Really the best store around for geek hobbies with friendly staff. As an extra bonus Alejandro started working there in the last few months and is now their resident modder and repair guy. Any consoles they don't buy pre-modded are modded in house. I dropped off my Sharp Twin Famicom and NESRGB kit for installation since I didn't have all the tools needed to do it myself. He knocked it out no problem for an incredibly reasonable price and with no shipping it off to an online service. $100 after tax for the labor was far less than buying myself the desoldering iron. Easy to work with and you can chat him up on mods for almost anything. Highly recommend the store and especially the mod service.

Fantastic experience: I love everything about this store -- it's a nostalgia paradise for music, games, and collectibles and the owner is super passionate about their trade. Anyone in the area or passing by should absolutely check it out.

Fantastic experience: Been going to Al's for over a decade now and will continue to do so as I cannot even begin to describe some of the amazing finds in this awesome hole-in-the-wall staple of The Ave.

Fantastic experience: Pretty old school feeling place with a big selection. I found Evangelion on VHS, Japanese Metal Gear for PS1, David Carradine's corny Tai Chi tape, and a lot more.

Fantastic experience: Really reasonable prices and an amazing selection of games, movies, and records.

Fantastic experience: My favorite place in Seattle. They have stuff in every format. Actual deals, a sweet dog, piles of cool stuff. Staff are super nice nerds who seem to actually be excited about esoteric media. Solid vibes, would give additional stars if it was an option. I come here whenever I'm sad, have a day off, or leave my house for any reason.

Fantastic experience: Love this store, good peeps, fair deals, and animu merch galore

Fantastic experience: Incredible selection, great staff, have been in here tons of times and always find gems!

Positive experience: Be really wary about buying consoles from here. I just got a Gameboy Advance SP, the cashier told me all consoles are sold in as-is condtion and carefully demonstrated that all the buttons work... but he was equally careful not to let me test it for myself. Turns out it wasn't the original shell, which was obvious when I used it. I've found consistently better prices and quality a block away at Pink Gorilla, and they also allow exchanges.

Fantastic experience: Awesome place to go around and check out the vast collection of vintage games and modern.

Positive experience: Their service was friendly and attentive, however I would not recommend buying a used console here as they have no guarantee on them. They are up front about this and do let you test the console before buying, however it still feels bad when you take it home and it crashes after several hours of play. Luckily I was able to take it to Game Gurus and they got it up and running again, but I learned my lesson and in the future I would only buy a used console from a shop that doesn't tell me I'm out of luck if it immediately breaks down.

Fantastic experience: Fantastic business, super sweet and helpful employees, will know exactly what you're looking for.

Fantastic experience: I love this place, great prices and helpful staff. One of the few places still selling old PC games.

Fantastic experience: Have sold some game stuff and bought a couple things here a few times. Pretty fair all around.

Fantastic experience: Absolutely fantastic store with the friendliest owner I've ever met, a huge selection of vintage records, VHS, DVDs, retro video games, well priced and a lot of variety. Ask the staff or owner if there's something you're looking for that isn't in the store and they might even have it just not on display. Super cool, highly recommended.

Fantastic experience: Great store with an amazing (and affordable!) selection of records, video games, and almost all other forms of vintage media. Hands down the best record store in Seattle out of the many I've been to.

Fantastic experience: Had an amazing experience shopping here, employee was kind, patient, and really friendly :) Bought a mixture of vinyl, retro video games, video game figures, and bluray! They have everything and more

Fantastic experience: In my opinion, this is the perfect store. They have a huge selection of Movies, Games, and Music. The prices are exactly what you'd expect from a local gaming store. Some of the staff aren't too talkative, but the owner is very friendly. If you're going in looking for games, they have a great selection of rare games, which is surprising with Pink Gorilla right down the street. I'd even go as far to say their selection of rare games is better. I always like going in their and I always find something I never expected to find in store.

Fantastic experience: Should be #1 on your trip to Seattle! What an awesome store and even more awesome people here. Staff are super friendly and happy to chat, great vibes. Great deals on your retro games and the VHS selection is impressive! Love you guys you are legends. Nine thumbs up!

Positive experience: From my experience the staff are helpful and friendly. Plus the dog is adorable.

Fantastic experience: Found a beat up game boy at a thrift shop so I came to Als to get some games and ended up with a lot more. My battery terminals were a little corroded so I ended up leaving it for a deep cleaning and replacement screen. Alex and the team did a great job restoring the gba and I picked up some nice games as well. They got a big selection of games and music for all shapes and sizes. Everyone was polite and helpful which was a big plus. Drop by, they probably got what you’re looking for and more.

Negative experience: Ok to descent selection but iffy. Only half the people try to help if they can and the other half don’t care what you have to ask or say! Be weary!

Fantastic experience: Nice store, was looking for a particular game quite hard to find and they had it in very good condition. Staff was really nice and seemed knowledgeable and kind enough to share anecdotes about trips and origin of some game acquisitions. I would advise anybody passionate enough to give a look at the shop, you never know what you might find. Thank again !

Fantastic experience: Lots of hidden gems in here. I definitely spent at least an hour browsing. The staff member working that day was super chill.

Positive experience: I come in to browse often, and the staff is usually friendly enough. Not always talkative, but willing to help. Typically slightly lower prices than Pink Gorilla, but I always check both before buying from either.

Positive experience: Huge selection of old games. I have picked up a handful of good priced classics here. Vinyl and music does not have the same amount of variety.

Negative experience: Buying used accessories from this place is extremely sketchy. I got a xbox one controller that was broken and they refused to give me a refund despite not having any stock to even replace it. So now I'm supposed to just call every day to get a controller but if I don't in 30 days my store credit is voidanyway?? this is the most ridiculous circumstance I've ever found myself in with a store. I brought the controller back and will never purchase from there again.

Fantastic experience: Wonderful experience, went in with 20ish xbox 360 games, all well loved, got $120 from them, would definitely go again. They also have a good selection or record, and games and stuff for several consoles (including stuff like genesis), would definitly go again

Positive experience: Variety. Vinyl, CD's, Games...you name it. I found an LP at a fair price, in great shape. Thay have a good selection of used vinyl but condition can be spotty. Fair prices though. You don't know what you may find here. A used guitar, amp, laser disc player, receiver, game boy, sponge bob square pants...Worth spending some time.

Negative experience: Tried to trade in a xbox 1 controller and a xbox 360 controller and they offered me 25 for both. Gamestop offers 25 for just one of the controllers themselves. Unless you're looking to get ripped off, better try your luck elsewhere

Negative experience: They have a lot of cool stuff!! To bad they bop you over the head for your trade in's and sell them for the super high!

Positive experience: Looks kinda intimidating from the outside. But the inside is incredible! Tons and tons of records, CDs, DVDs, Blu-rays, comic books, and all kinds of video games. Great selection! We found old records (Best of Arlo Guthrie) and new records (Young the Giant and Coin). Everything is reasonably priced and we had a ton of fun checking it out.

Negative experience: They close early especially when you come from another state that really does suck i wouldn't spend my time coming out here if I knew that and I was there at 8:50 p.m.

Fantastic experience: Has lots of stock left over from the old 2nd Time Around. Good for finding cheapo diamonds in the rough, especially for CDs & tapes.

Fantastic experience: Amazing new experience for me!! This is a must visit to all the nostalgic people of the 80's and 90's. Tonds of retro stuff!!*-* I'll be back soon ;)

Fantastic experience: Great experience. Vast collection of old school games reasonably priced. Friendly environment and very reasonable if you have any issues.

Fantastic experience: Called ahead for a copy of Harvest Moon 64. They saved it for me, and it was in great shape!

Fantastic experience: Al's has everything; rare games, music, action figures and memorabilia. If you're an anime nerd, or an audiophile, you need to check this place out. They'll also pay a good price for hard to find games and collectibles.

Positive experience: great games are cheap they have NES consles for a fair price and nes games are cheap like .49 cents cheap

Fantastic experience: WHAT A EXPERIENCE THEY HAVE EVERYTHING! AND THE MANAGER AND EMPLOYEES ARE GREAT! I CONSIDER AL'S A FAVORITE PLACE! AWESOME, COOL AND A PLACE YOU NEED TO EXPERIENCE!